State land sale proceeds in FY2023 at S$8.15 billion so far, highest in 6 years
Proceeds of state land sales have amounted to about S$8.15 billion so far for the government’s fiscal year ending Mar 31, 2024.
This is the largest sum recorded from government land sales (GLS) in the past six years, since FY2017, when S$8.4 billion worth of land was sold, said Chia Siew Chuin, JLL’s head of residential research.
The value of state land sold so far in FY2023 is up from the S$3.6 billion transacted in FY2022. It is also higher than the average seen annually between FY2017 and FY2021, which Minister for Law and Home Affairs K Shanmugam put at S$5.5 billion in a parliamentary reply in January 2023.
Singapore-China visa-free programme boosts CNY bookings to SG
Trip.com saw an increase in Chinese New Year bookings to Singapore following the implementation of the Singapore-China mutual 30-day visa-free arrangement.
According to the travel platform, CNY bookings were 206 times higher compared to 2022, with 47% of the bookings made by families.
On 9 February, Trip.com welcomed the first batch of Chinese tourists visiting Singapore visa-free.
Nomura sees manufacturing supporting 3% GDP growth this year
Nomura still expects the Singapore economy to expand faster at around 3% this year from the 1.2% increase in 2023 on the back of robust manufacturing activity.
In its Nomura Coincident Monthly Activity Indicator (NCMAI), its latest GDP growth forecast is at the upper end of the government’s official 1% to 3% projection for the year, and above the consensus estimate of 2.3%.
“We expect the strong rebound to be led by the global tech turnaround, which should boost overall manufacturing output,” it said, noting that the manufacturing sector’s growth already helped temper the weakness in the services sector.
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